21 February, 2018. On Feb 17th, 2018， the Chinese Embassy in Tonga called on and organized Chinese water manufacturers to donate 500 boxes of drinking water to Tongan National Emergency Management Office (NEMO), to ensure the water supply for the Tongan victims of the Tropical Cyclone Gita.

Three Chinese drinking water manufacturers in Tonga, Ofa-ki, Zenith and Omni, responded rapidly by sending their vehicles and Chinese workers to deliver all their inventories to the designated warehouse of NEMO, while their own factories were yet to be fixed and put into operation again.

The Chinese owners stated that at this difficult moment for Tonga, and as Chinese companies established and operated in the Kingdom, they are willing，in spite of their own difficulties，to carry out social responsibilities and work together with Tongan people to rebuild the country.

21 February, 2018. Since the Tropical Cyclone Gita wrecked across Tonga, the Chinese companies, Chinese nationals and Tongan Chinese in the Kingdom have actively participated in the disaster-relief work, together with Tongan government and people.

China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC)’s crane and workers helped clear the Tupoulahi Road blocked by a collapsed satelite dish, right after the cyclone left the island.

Three Chinese water manufacturers, Ofa-ki, Zenith and Omni, donated all their drinking water in stock and delivered it to NEMO’s warehouse, despite that their factories were still under falling trees or roofless.

The Chinese experts of the China-aid Agricultural Project visited local farmers, inspected the damage and set remediation plan right after the disaster happened.

The Chinese Embassy has committed itself to donating 40 thousand pa’angas of emergency disaster-relief fund to Tongan Government in addition to having donated three power generators and a truck for the victims and local villages to rebuild their homeland.

Furthermore, the Chinese Government has declared that it will provide support for the reconstruction effort in the coming months after both the Chinese Government and the Red Cross Society of China announced 600,000 US dollars of emergency humanitarian assistance by remittance to Tonga.

18 February, 2018. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided $6 million to the Government of Tonga to help fund priority early recovery activities following the onslaught of Tropical Cyclone Gita, which tore through Tongatapu, Tonga’s main island and nearby ‘Eua island, late on 12 February.

“Cyclone Gita has destroyed livelihoods and infrastructure, and providing emergency relief is the first step towards restoring essential services,” said Carmela Locsin, Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department.

“This is the first time ADB has provided post-disaster funds under such a contingent facility, allowing government to respond quickly to emerging needs. As well as this immediate financing, ADB stands ready to provide further assistance for Tonga to rebuild following the cyclone.”

“The Tongan government greatly appreciates the quick support provided by ADB to assist the country’s immediate response and recovery efforts to be more effective and timely,” said Acting Minister for Finance and National Planning Poasi Tei.

“Gita, a category 4 cyclone, was probably the most powerful cyclone to pass near Tonga in 60 years, with sustained winds of up to 145 miles per hour. Early estimates indicate that at least 1,100 houses have been damaged with 120 destroyed.

Rehabilitation costs for electricity, water and sanitation, schools, and other sectors are likely to be very significant.”

Funding will come from ADB’s Pacific Disaster Resilience Program, which was established in December 2017 to help strengthen Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu’s resilience to disasters.

The Pacific Disaster Resilience Program fills a financing gap experienced by many Pacific countries hit hard by disasters.

It provides a predictable and quick-disbursing source of financing for early response, recovery, and reconstruction activities, and supports priority actions in disaster risk management in participating countries, according to ADB.

2 February, 2018. The New Zealand funded Sports for Health Rugby Programme is being launched at Kolomotu’a Community Rugby Field on Tuesday 6 February.

The initiative is a Pacific Sporting Partnership, delivered by New Zealand Rugby, to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage boys and girls in the Pacific to be active and to get involved in sports.

It will introduce children in the Pacific to a type of rugby known as ‘Quick Rip’ (noncontact ugby), alongside a healthy lifestyles awareness campaign.

The five year ‘Quick Rip’ rugby programme will be delivered in Tonga, Fiji, Cook Islands and Samoa. New Zealand’s $4 million investment supports efforts across the four countries to reduce the rate of non-communicable diseases in the Pacific.

New Zealand ‘Quick Rip’ ambassadors, former All Black Pita Alatini, and Black Fern Charlene Gubb (formerly Halapua), will be in Tonga to take Quick Rip across Tongatapu.

“Playing sport is a great way to get children active and to learn the benefits of a healthy lifestyle while having fun,” Acting High Commissioner Nick Hurley says.

“Quick Rip is a safe, easy-to-play game that is suitable for all ages. The Sports for Health programme will focus on girls and boys aged 13 – 18 years of age.”

New Zealand Rugby will work closely with the Tongan Rugby Union to deliver the programme and will provide training to support local coaches and referees.

“I encourage the public to attend the Quick Rip games to see local teams display their skills, and to meet the sports ambassadors,” said Nick Hurley.

The Pacific Sporting Partnerships also includes a Sports for Health Netball Programme, which was launched in Fiji and the Cook Islands in 2017. The Sports for Health Netball Programme will be launched in Tonga and Samoa in March 2018.

25 January, 2018. The New Zealand Government has awarded 26 Tongan students with tertiary scholarships to study in New Zealand or Fiji commencing in 2018.

Twenty-one scholars have been accepted into New Zealand universities and six scholars will study at the University of the South Pacific or the Fiji National University.

The New Zealand Pacific Scholarships and New Zealand Regional Development Scholarships are funded through the New Zealand Aid programme.

Acting New Zealand High Commissioner, Nick Hurley, hosted a reception on Wednesday evening to celebrate the students’ achievement and to welcome home returning alumni.

In his speech he congratulated the scholarship winners and encouraged them to “seize this opportunity.

Be bold. Be brave. Challenge yourself. Remember always that you are ambassadors for your family, for your village, for Tonga.”

Acting New Zealand High Commissioner, Nick Hurley

The 2018 King Tupou VI Coronation Scholarship recipient was also announced as Maletino Taumu’alelei ‘I Loyala Mafi, of Houmakelikao, Ma’ufanga.

This Coronation Scholarship is offered annually to the Dux of Tonga High School. Maletino is the second recipient of this prestigious scholarship.

The Guest Speaker, the Hon. Penisimani Fifita, Minister of Education congratulated the scholars on their achievements and encouraged them to aim for excellence in their studies, not simply a pass grade.

He reminded them that the funding they received was a privilege and urged the students to study hard to respect the honour of their selection.

King Tupou VI Coronation Scholarship recipient, Maletino Mafi, gave an inspirational speech, reminding the other scholars going to study in New Zealand and Fiji that hardwork and determination are needed to successfully meet their goals.

That theme was underlined in the remarks by one of the returning alumni, Annelise Halafihi, who offered advice on perseverance in the face of challenges in an unfamiliar environment, drawing on her own personal experience.

The 26 New Zealand scholarship recipients will be studying qualifications from bachelor levels through to master degrees and PhDs across a broad range of subjects from health sciences, information technology, accounting, business, energy, medicine, environmental management, engineering, aviation, commerce, economics and maritime law.

Scholarships are awarded with the intention that the knowledge and skills of an individual will enrich Tonga and their communities following their completion of study and return to Tonga.

The New Zealand Government invests over NZ$3 million in tertiary scholarships annually for Tongan citizens to study in New Zealand or in the Pacific Region.

They are referred to the agency if they have a family member who is disabled or they are struggling with family violence and housing problems.

"By the end of the programme they are eating healthy food because it is cheaper" - Vaka Tautua's chief executive Mark Gosche duration 4′ :14″ from Summer Report Add to playlist Download

"By the end of the programme they are eating healthy food because it is cheaper" - Vaka Tautua's chief executive Mark Gosche.

In the three years it's been running, it has empowered more than 400 Auckland families.

On a very hot evening last month, 40 people gathered for a ceremony at a Tongan church in Otara.

They celebrated and shared stories after completing an eight week course which helped them get to grips with their finances.

"Life-changing" is how one participant described the programme.

Ana Talakai who works full-time, said the course gave her a savings goal.

"By the end of this course I was thinking to save something to go for a holiday. Because I'm working full-time from January - December and I didn't have enough money to think of going for a holiday to the Islands or anywhere in New Zealand, but this time I can do it," she said.

Vaka Tautua chief executive Mark Gosche said the programme worked because it gave families the skills to deal with their financial problems.

There are several elements, including a weekly workshop and an individual coaching session, as well as participants keeping a spending diary.

Mr Gosche said families were forced to address their needs and wants and debated what was important, often changing the family dynamic.

"Because when they have to write down in their spending diary how much they spend, quite often a huge amount is going on takeaways, unhealthy food. And by the end of the programme, that drops dramatically and they're actually eating healthy food, because it's cheaper and it's better and the family makes that decision collectively," Mr Gosche said.

"It's hard if you're a smoker and you're sitting around the table with your children to say 'I'm gong to continue to spend $6000-$7000 a year on cigarettes', when the children's are saying, 'but our needs are in other areas like in education'," he said.

Lingisou Sinaki Teulilo said he's givenLi up smoking and continues to use his spending diary.

"It makes me happy because I can see when I write down what I'm going to buy shopping, 'oh just one thing' leave it. I just only buy the thing I need," he said.

Mr Gosche said Pacific people often didn't access government services and often weren't claiming what they're entitled to, partly because for many, English is a second language.

This is the first time the course has been run entirely in Tongan - which Ana Talakai said was important for her, because they explained things in a way they could understand. She described it as a "blessing."

Course co-ordinator Eugenie Hiliate said during the course lawyers spoke to the group about wills and power of attorney, which many didn't know about.

"Putting it into context into their own daily lives and how it affects them as far as their culture and their values. I think it gave them the opportunity to learn from each other, they leave all the financial decisions to the kids, but they're actually a little bit out of the loop," she said.

It's not cheap, costing about $2400 per family.

But Mr Gosche said the return on the investment was ten times that figure because of reduced health costs with people stopping smoking and eating better.

"We are dealing at the real hard end of the community. Debt is high, savings are usually minimal or none at all, and when an emergency hits it's a crisis, so off down to the pay-day lender people have to go," he said.

Mr Gosche said while it was obvious to see the difference the programme made to families who had hit rock bottom, there was also solid evidence and evaluations to support it.

But he said the course didn't rescue anyone, nor did it solve the long term problem of low wages and people simply not having enough money.

"We don't do the, go to the shop and sort out the finance deal. What we do is we bring in the advice that gets them to understand credit contracts, how they work, how debt works, how not to get into more debt, how to save for the future and the first thing we do is get them to start debt reduction," he said.

He'd like to see it extended to other communities and areas like mental health, community housing, and family violence.